Morning Brief: Govt Moves To Curb Cheap Chinese Pharma Imports; D-Street Braces For Rs 2.6 Lakh Crore IPO Deluge In 2025; India Mocks Pakistan As 'Serial Borrower'; And More

Kick-start your morning with Swarajya’s Morning Brief – your news fix, curated for clarity and insight.

Govt Moves To Curb Cheap Chinese Pharma Imports

In a bid to shield domestic drugmakers from a surge of cheap Chinese imports, the government is planning to impose a minimum import price (MIP) on select pharmaceutical raw materials. These include key drug intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used in antibiotics and cholesterol medicines, many of which are sourced almost entirely from China. Officials say the move aims to counter China’s aggressive price undercutting and prevent long-term damage to India’s pharma manufacturing base.

The targeted inputs are among 41 critical components identified under the government’s PLI scheme for self-reliance. Industry consultations are ongoing. While API producers back the move, formulation companies worry that costlier raw materials could squeeze margins and impact competitiveness in global markets.

D-Street Braces For Rs 2.6 Lakh Crore IPO Deluge In 2025

India’s IPO market is poised for a record-breaking second half of 2025, with Rs 2.58 lakh crore worth of offerings in the pipeline, ET has reported. Of this, IPOs totalling Rs 1.15 lakh crore have already received SEBI’s nod, while proposals worth Rs 1.43 lakh crore await approval. Heavyweights like Tata Capital (Rs 17,200 crore), LG Electronics (Rs 15,000 crore), and Groww (Rs 5,950 crore) lead the charge, alongside unicorns such as Meesho, PhonePe, Lenskart, and Physics Wallah.

Mutual funds have emerged as key IPO participants, backed by strong SIP inflows of Rs 27,000 crore monthly. In 2024, 90 IPOs raised Rs 1.6 lakh crore. The fresh wave is also driven by private equity firms nearing fund maturity, prompting exits. With valuations high in the secondary market, money managers are leaning into primary issuances.

India Mocks Pakistan As 'Serial Borrower' At UNSC

India tore into Pakistan at the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, calling it a nation steeped in fanaticism, terrorism, and serial borrowing. Speaking at a high-level debate on multilateralism and peace, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish contrasted India’s global rise with Pakistan’s failures, calling New Delhi a “mature democracy and surging economy,” while slamming Islamabad’s repeated IMF bailouts.

Harish also cited Pakistan’s role in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians and said India responded with “focused, non-escalatory” strikes under Operation Sindoor. He added that Pakistan’s claims of peace are hollow while it shelters terrorists, and noted that India agreed to a ceasefire only after a direct request from Islamabad, countering Donald Trump’s mediation claims.

Other Developments

SC Notice To States, Centre In Rare President Reference On Bill Assent

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Centre and all states in response to a rare Presidential reference under Article 143(1), seeking clarity on whether the President and governors can be bound by judicially prescribed timelines to assent to state bills.

A five-judge Constitution took up the reference. President Droupadi Murmu posed 14 legal questions after the SC’s 8 April ruling directed governors to act on bills within one month. The court asked Attorney General R Venkataramani to assist, with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta representing the Centre. The matter will next be heard on 29 July.

PSU Banks’ Gross NPAs Fall To 2.58 Per Cent In FY25

Public sector banks’ gross non-performing assets (NPAs) dropped to 2.58 per cent in FY25 from 9.11 per cent in FY21, the government told Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Gross NPAs fell from Rs 6.16 lakh crore in March 2021 to Rs 2.83 lakh crore in March 2025, aided by reforms such as the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), changes to recovery laws, and RBI’s prudential framework for resolution of stressed assets.

PSBs also set up specialised NPA monitoring units and adopted recovery models like business correspondents and “feet-on-street.” The IBC, which bars wilful defaulters from resolution, has shifted the debtor-creditor balance, the government said. Amendments to SARFAESI and DRT laws also helped boost recovery by focusing on high-value loan cases.

India, UK Poised To Sign Free Trade Deal During PM Modi's Visit

India and the UK appear set to sign a landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA) during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s day-long visit to London on July 24. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri confirmed that “last-minute work,” including legal scrubbing, was underway. Modi is expected to hold talks with British PM Keir Starmer on trade, defence, technology, and people-to-people ties, along with raising concerns on Khalistani extremism and the extradition of economic fugitives.

Russia-Ukraine tensions may also come up, with India reiterating its opposition to “double standards” in energy trade. Misri said the UK had not yet acted on proposed secondary sanctions and stressed that India’s energy security remains a top priority.

Trump Announces Trade Deal With Japan With 15 Per Cent Tariff

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a major trade deal with Japan, claiming Tokyo will invest $550 billion in the United States and agree to a 15 per cent reciprocal tariff. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said the agreement would open Japanese markets to US exports, including cars, trucks, rice, and key agricultural products, and create “hundreds of thousands” of jobs in America.

The deal comes after Trump threatened higher tariffs on Japanese exports, including a proposed 25 per cent levy starting 1 August. Japanese automobiles already face a 25 per cent tariff in the US.

From The States

Liquor Kickbacks Funded YSRCP’s Campaign, Africa Push: Chargesheet

The Andhra Pradesh CID chargesheet into a Rs 3,570-crore liquor scam alleges that the YSRCP under Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy used liquor kickbacks to fund its 2024 election campaign and explore African ventures post-defeat. A policy shift from automated to manual liquor distribution allegedly favoured select distillers, who paid Rs 50–60 crore monthly in bribes routed through shell firms.

The 317-page chargesheet, filed in Vijayawada, names ex-CM’s aide Kesireddy Raja Shekhar Reddy as the key figure. It claims liquor case commissions ranged from Rs 150–600 depending on brand, and implicates top party leaders in managing and moving funds across Andhra Pradesh constituencies.

Adani SEZ Among Bidders For Greater Noida Logistics Hub

Adani Ports and SEZ, Super Handlers, and Empezar Logistics are in the fray to develop a Rs 1,200-crore multimodal logistics park in Greater Noida. The 174-acre site, offered on a 90-year lease by the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA), will house warehousing units, cargo terminals, and a skill centre. The location offers direct access to the eastern and western freight corridors and the upcoming Jewar airport.

UP minister Nand Gopal Gupta said proposals are being reviewed, and a final decision is expected soon. The project falls under the state’s 2024 logistics park policy and is part of a broader push to attract infrastructure investment. Officials estimate the park could create over 5,000 jobs. The project has strategic value due to proximity to CONCOR’s dry port and rising demand for organised warehousing in NCR.

SC To Hear Maha Govt’s Plea On 11/7 Acquittals

The Supreme Court will hear the Maharashtra government’s appeal against the Bombay High Court’s acquittal of all 12 men convicted in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court the matter has “serious ramifications” and urged urgent listing. The HC had overturned the 2015 MCOCA court verdict, which had sentenced five to death and seven to life for the blasts that killed 187 people.

In its plea, the state said the high court misread cogent evidence and discarded confessions on technicalities despite their admissibility under MCOCA. It said the accused had links to Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Azam Cheema, and the coordinated attack was planned in Pakistan and executed via Nepal, Bangladesh and Gujarat.

You’re all caught up—until next time.